South Pole

“Anyone want to bet if Vanhoover got destroyed yet?” Asked Sonar as he ducked under a stray thermal lance.

“Why the hell would you want to bet on the apocalypse?” Questioned Jai.

“I need something to look forward to.”

“You’re seriously whacked, you known that?” Groaned Mike.

“Does it really matter?” Asked the stallion as he swung his laser rifle up onto his shoulder.

“Behind you!”

Sonar rolled his eyes before he spun around and swung the rifle like a club into his assailant and got off two shots into the soldier that was following. “Do you really think I’m an amateur? Please, next to the definition of badass is my picture!”

“You’re a cocky one, you know that?” Adrianna added.

“Comes with the territory.” Said Sonar as he sidestepped another Enclave soldier, who he promptly put down with a slash of his knife across the soldier’s throat.

“To any UNSC assets in the polar regions, this is Captain Cutter of the Spirit of Fire. Respond, over.”

Jai dove to the ground, firing shots from his plasma pistol as he went. “Go for Sierra double-oh six!”

“Spartan, be advised that we have two squads of Marines headed for the shipyard.”

“Really, just two?”

“Come again?”

“Look, if you’re gonna half ass our backup, at least give me something that I can work with!”

“Jai, heads up!” yelled Mike as he shoved a shock trooper towards his fellow Spartan.

“I see him.” Jai dove forward, clotheslining the soldier before stomping down on its helmet with a resounding crunch. “Can I get something a bit more challenging?”

“Did you really just ask that?” Asked Adrianna.

“Maybe. Don’t see why that’s a problem.”

The room went quiet for a moment before a large explosion blew a set of doors open behind the group, giving way to a charging purple goliath. “See what I mean?” asked Adrianna before she dove out of the way.

“Grey, lob and drill!” yelled Jai we he took a knee.

Mike ran past Jai, charging their attacker, while Adrianna ran straight for her teammate. Jai was quick to act, locking his hands together like a step, allowing Adrianna to plant her foot and start a jump that he added a significant boost to as he threw his teammate skyward before he turned around to watch. By now, he figured out that Naomi had joined the party. Her attention was drawn by Adrianna, who was falling towards her. Instead of reacting, Naomi sidestepped the falling Spartan, before she whacked Mike with her outstretched arm.

“That was fucking great!” Groaned Jai as he charged forward with his knife drawn. Naomi spotted the Spartan, and dove at his legs and sent him tumbling forward. The Spartan turned over and jumped to his feet only to get clubbed by Naomi, who had grabbed the stray stock of a smashed laser rifle.

Naomi kicked Jai in the side of his chest, sending the Spartan sliding a few feet across the floor, stopping once he hit Mike’s prone form. “Some specialists you three turned out to be.”

“Forget about someone else love?” Yelled Sonar.

Naomi turned around, expecting to see the unicorn sneaking up on her. But he wasn’t there. She looked around the room, yet there was no sight of the Equestrian. “You afraid to get beat again?”

Sonar popped into existence behind Naomi, slapping her back before he clambered up her back and vaulted off her shoulders, with a small remote in his hand. “Kid, allow me to teach you a lesson.” Sonar hit the button on his remote, and an explosion rang out from Naomi’s back, sending her flying towards the unicorn. Sonar stepped to the side and lit his horn with magic, his hands glowing a similar shade. As the Spartan reached him, he slammed his hands down into her back, smashing Naomi into the floor. “I hand out the beatings around here.”

Naomi went to roll onto her back but felt a foot plant into her shoulder, keeping her in place. She looked up at the unicorn that had put her on the ground, and smirked behind her visor at the shadow approaching the stallion.

“Oh, that’s right. You had a friend with you.” Said Sonar as he shrugged, lit his horn once more and whipped around.

“Step away from the Spartan” ordered the female.

Sonar looked over the human, noticing her nametag on her breast. “So you must be Serin… I was expecting someone taller.”

“I said step away from the-”

Sonar charged Osman, catching her with an uppercut before he sidestepped the human and grabbed her in a headlock. “Sorry, didn’t catch that last part.” Through Osman’s struggling, Sonar ripped her magnum free of her hand and tossed it to the side. “Now here’s how this will work. You and your friends are coming back to Canterlot with me, where you’ll all get some quality time with my wife. Capish?”

“Why should she be scared of your wife?” Asked Jai as he rose to his feet.

“Rose is very persuasive.” Retorted Sonar.

“You do know you’re dealing with one of the hardest officers the UNSC has to offer, right?” asked the Spartan

Sonar rolled his eyes before summoning the discarded magnum and sticking it to Osman’s head. “Then I’d assume that it would be easier just to turn her head into a canoe.”

“You wouldn’t” Goaded Osman.

Sonar shrugged and moved the pistol behind his captive’s ear and angled it so any bullets wouldn’t hit anything important. “You want to test that theory?” Sonar was met with silence, and his finger moved to the trigger.

BANG

“Fuck!” yelled Osman as she tried unsuccessfully to clutch what was left of her ear.

“Now, are you going to come quietly?” asked Sonar. Behind him the two soldiers that had apprehended him earlier had entered the room, accompanied by another in similar armor..

“Let her go scumbag!” yelled the leader of the trio.

Sonar turned to face the two new arrivals, jamming the magnum to Osman’s head once more. “Now Serin, do we have anything to say to your friends here?”

Osman grunted in pain before she sighed in defeat. “Kilo-Five, stand down.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“You have your orders Geffen. Now stand down.” Ordered Osman.

As the three soldiers lowered their weapons, Jai strode over and ripped them out of their hands, tossing them to the side.

“Alright, we’re done here.” Said Sonar, and he started walking Osman out of the room, the Spartans escorting the other prisoners behind him.

As they reached the main door Sonar threw it open with a burst of magic, and strode out into the squall.

“I hope you have a ride.” Groaned Osman.

As if divined by the princess herself, a Pelican came to settle on the ground in front of the group. “Autopilot is a wonderful thing.” Quipped Sonar as he pushed Osman up the ramp.

“It wasn’t autopilot doing the job!” came a voice from the cockpit.

Sonar glanced over at Jai, passing off his prisoner before heading forward to investigate. He walked into the cockpit, finding a hooded figure at the controls with his feet up. “What the hell’s going on here?”

The pony spun around in the chair and threw his hood back, revealing his bemused expression. “I don’t think we’ve had a proper introduction.”

“Steeljack, right?” Asked Sonar.

The stallion nodded. “You hear anything from Dusk?”

Sonar shook his head. “I was a bit busy helping hold off a horde of ponies bent on my destruction.”

Steeljack sat back in the chair and groaned before he clicked the radio on. “Paris, did you pick up Dusk’s IFF tag again?”

“Negative. We’re still searching. His previous course puts him somewhere north of Vanhoover. We’ve got locals in route. Paris out.”

“Mind telling me what that’s about?” Asked Sonar.

“Your son has a thicker skull than I thought.” Said Steeljack. “The moron jumped off the MAC platform once it entered the atmosphere, probably grabbed a piece of the hull as a heat shield while he was at it.”

“You can’t get a hold of him?” asked Sonar.

Steeljack shook his head. “He shut off his radio after he said goodbye to Dart. Look, I consider Dusk a friend. But I’ve never seen him do anything so… Shit, I don’t even know how to put it.”

“Then we’re assuming he’s dead?”

Steeljack shook his head. “His armor probably took most of the impact once he hit the ground. But we’ve got other problems to deal with.” Steeljack hit a few buttons on the console, and a holographic map of Vanhoover materialized. “Most of Vanhoover is flooded, the local gangs are out of control, the local guard contingent is down for the count, and we’ve got your friends to toss in cells back in Canterlot. Cosmo and his team can get Dusk, but we need to haul ass.”

“Easy enough, assuming you know how to fly this bucket.” Said Sonar.

“And that right there would be our understatement of the day.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Canterlot Castle, Twenty Minutes Later

A group of four guards were flanking Princess Celestia as Steeljack’s Pelican touched down. All were armed with plasma rifles, aimed at the rear ramp of the craft. They all tensed up as the ramp lowered to the ground, and a group of humans were ushered out.

“Steeljack, I take it all went well?” Asked the diarch.

The stallion nodded. “As well as it could’ve been.”

Celestia turned her attention to the group of humans, surrounded by guards and some Spartans, who were being checked for hidden weapons. “What happened to Admiral Osman?”

“A bit of a misunderstanding between her magnum and her earlobe.” Said Sonar “Nothing that she won’t live through.”

The Princess nodded in solemn agreement. “Good to know. Now if the two of you would come with me, we have urgent business we need to address.”

“Is this the sort of urgent business that I’ll like hearing?” Asked Sonar as he followed the Princess into the castle.

Celestia didn’t say a word, instead leading Steeljack and Sonar into the war room. “Captain Sentry, do you have a feed?”

Flash nodded, punching in some commands to the human-supplied computer before it came alive in a show of multicolored lights. After a few moments, four figures formed out of the light. At the forefront was a unicorn clad in shattered and burnt armor.

“Dusk, I take it that you enjoyed your flight?” Asked the Princess.

“Flight? That wasn’t a fucking flight. That was me falling to my doom!”

“But you’re alive, none the less. Now, I believe you have information to share.”

Dusk sighed. “West Wind is still kicking.”

“I thought that General Shower iced him.” Noted Flash.

“And he obviously has brains and cybernetics to spare. Someone grabbed him after we bugged out, that much is clear. What ‘they’ did to him remains to be seen.”

Steeljack was off to the side, more focused on a figure wearing a set of powered armor that looked vaguely familiar. “He didn’t happen to go down with the platform, did he?”

Dusk shook his head. “He and his men fell back to some sort of portal in a different part of the station. I don’t know where they ended up.”

“Do we know where the station’s wreckage landed?” asked Sonar. “Might be worth a look.”

“The Redoubtable is already on it.” Said Flash. “It landed in the northern tundra, roughly twenty miles west of the Crystal Empire.”

“Steeljack take who you can and get to that platform, see if you can pick up West Wind’s trail. I’ll go to Vanhoover and help coordinate disaster response.”

“Dart and Halsey are already back at my loft.” Added Cosmo. “They should have a command post up and running by the time we get there.”

“Alright, I’ll take care of it.” Said Steeljack. “Flash, kill the feed.”

Flash nodded, cutting the transmission. “Something wrong?”

Steeljack nodded. “Damn right something’s wrong. Who the hell was wearing my armor?”

“Of all the shit that we’re dealing with right now, that’s the most important?” Groaned Sonar.

“It’s not. It’s just a very pressing question.” Retorted Steeljack. “I spent months building that suit, and now-”

“Steeljack, you haven’t worn it since Las Pegasus.” Added Flash. “Now quit your bitching and grab some cold-weather gear. I’ll have Tremble and the rest of the team meet you outside once they’re ready.”

Steeljack rolled his eyes and walked out of the war room, breaking into a stride as he made for the armory at the far end of the hall.

“Should I bring the coal and carrots?” asked Comet as he ran up alongside Steeljack.

“Sure, we’ll make a snowman contest out of it!” added Strike, taking a position opposite of Comet.

Steeljack ignored the two, brushing past the guards at the armory door and heading straight over to a rack with a pair of dusters and armored chestplates and went to a suit of bulky black and grey armor and started pulling it on.

“Where we heading today?” asked Comet as he and Strike were getting themselves situated with the gear that Steeljack blew past.

“An Enclave controlled space station made a one way trip to a crater in the northern tundra.” Steeljack said as he finished pulling his greaves on.

“So it’s a torch and burn then?” asked Strike as he pulled on his pants.

Steeljack shook his head. “There was some sort of portal on that station that the crew used to evacuate. Considering the decided lack of usable Enclave bases, that portal is our best bet to find where they’re hiding.”

“That’s assuming that it’s even in one piece.” Came a voice from the armory door.

“And here comes Commander Obvious.” Groaned Strike. He was silenced once Comet smacked the back of his head.

“Do you live in that suit Don?” asked Steeljack as he sheathed the knife on his chestplate.

The human walked over to one of the cabinets opposite of Steeljack and pulled out four plasma rifles and handed them out before tossing around some energy cells. “I’d be tempted to wear something else, but I don’t have the luxury of decent clothes.”

Steeljack slid one of the cells into the rifle before pocketing the spares and swinging the rifle over his shoulder. “We’ll fix that eventually.”

“Alright, tea time’s over!” Yelled Strike as he left the armory.

Steeljack and Tremble exchanged glances before they followed the Pegasus into the hall, running after Strike as he sprinted down the hall and out into the courtyard.

______________________________________________________________________________

“How long do you think we’ll be waiting?” asked Rosemary

Sonar shrugged. “Not a damn-”

“Coming through!” yelled Strike as he ran up the ramp.

“Probably not long.”

Steeljack and Tremble walked up the ramp, both looking rather bemused. “Tagging along Sonar?”

The unicorn nodded. “I’ve got nothing better to do. What about you Rose?”

The mare shrugged. “I heard that the tundra was nice this time of year.”

“Oh, most certainly!” yelled Comet. “It’s cold, covered in snow… And has all of that deadly nature. What’s not to love?”

“Probably the deadly nature.” Deadpanned Steeljack. “Emphasis on ‘deadly’.”

“Then I’m fine with that.” Added Flash as he boarded the Pelican. “Now let’s get down to business. Redoubtable has landed about two miles from the edge of the crash site and is establishing a base camp so the station wreckage can be secured. Steeljack, you’re in charge of the recovery operations once you hit the ground, so proceed as you see fit.”

“Has any sort of route to the site been scouted?” asked Sonar.

Flash shook his head. “As of last contact, not yet.”

“Then we’ll have to make due.” Added Steeljack. “Anyone have anything else to add?”

Tremble banged his fist on the wall, drawing the attention of the assembled group. “Can we just get on with it? I don't want to spend my friday night out in the freezing cold.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Northern Tundra, Redoubtable Base Camp, Half an Hour Later

Steeljack sat at the very back of the Pelican, looking out the open bay door onto the vast expanse of snow and ice only a hundred feet below. After a few moments of vast expanse, the Pelican began to bank to the left and descend into the shadow of the HMS Redoubtable. “Alright, get your shoes on!” As the Pelican shuddered with the landing on the hardened snow, Steeljack dropped down to the ground and walked away from the craft and made for the only structure visible; a flimsy canvas tent, door flap flailing in the breeze. He walked in making a brisk pace before slipping off to the side.

One of the officers, a teal pegasus mare wearing a blue and yellow parka, was looking at plans for the base camp.

“Do you think that any of this is worth the trouble Commander?” asked Steeljack.

The pegasus nodded, not bothering to pay attention to Steeljack. “I need to be sure we can operate out here for the long-term.”

Steeljack nodded. “You must be one of the Wonderbolts.”

The mare finally paid attention to Steejack. “Name’s Fleetfoot. You must be the specialist that Canterlot was sending to take over.”

“Trust me, I’m no specialist.” Chuckled Steeljack. “But yes, I’m here to take the reins.”

“Then I’ll bring you up to speed.” Fleetfoot tossed the site plans out of the way and pulled out a map of the area with a large red ‘x’ plastered across the upper right hand corner. “The station crashed here, leaving a crater at least one hundred feet deep, and roughly five miles across. For the most part, the station appears to be relatively intact, although the lower levels are buried somewhere in the crater.”

“Then we’re assuming that those sections were crushed?”

Fleetfoot nodded. “At least until we can take a better look. And to make sure nothing gets in or out, I’ve got every available pegasus, Warthog and Pelican on perimeter detail.”

Steeljack stifled a chuckle. “Do you honestly believe that something is coming out of that hole?”

“Hey, I’m just following orders.” Defended Fleetfoot.

“That’s fine. Now, how quickly can you get me a Warthog?”

Fleetfoot drummed her fingers on the table. “Probably within the hour, it’s just a matter of one coming back from patrol.”

“That’ll be good enough.” Said Steeljack as he rolled up the map of the crash site. “Just come find me when that Warthog is ready.”

______________________________________________________________________________

“Alright, look alive” ordered Tremble as Steeljack returned. “What’s the word?”

“We’ll wait for one of the patrols to come back, then head for the platform.” Said Steeljack. “Fleetfoot said it should be about an hour.”

“Then what the hell are we supposed to do?” complained Strike.

Steeljack shook his head in disappointment. “I’d figure you’d pick up on it by now Strike, but a camp isn’t really a camp without more than one tent. Now go find the work crew and get to it.”

Strike skulked off to the group of engineers on the other side of the camp, leaving a bemused Comet behind. “And what about the rest of us?”

Shrugging, Steeljack turned and started walking back to the tent. “Unless I missed something, Fleetfoot does have a pot of coffee with our names on it.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Three Hours Later

“So I’ve been thinking-” started Tremble “But has Strike seemed a bit… Irritable as of late?”

Steeljack paused for a moment, putting his mug down on the table. “How so?”

“Well, there’s been a bit more than the usual bitching and moaning.” Pointed out Comet. “And a few mood swings here and there…”

“You think he’s losing it again?” asked Steeljack.

“I’m sorry, but again?” asked Fleetfoot. “This Strike guy, is he crazy or something like that?”

“He’s been unstable for the better part of the last three years, maybe longer.” Stated Tremble.

“The Enclave really did a number on him when they were holding the two of us prisoner.” Said Comet. “Maimed his wings, beat the shit out of him, and tortured him with electro-shock therapy.”

“And you got out unscathed?” asked Fleetfoot.

Comet shook his head. “They used me to test drugs and painkillers.”

Fleetfoot opted to remain silent, pouring herself another cup of coffee.

BANG BANG BANG

Shit, fall back!

“What the hell was that?” asked Comet

Strike threw the tent flap open, plasma rifle in his free hand. “We’ve got company!”

With a blast of wind, the tent was blown away and crumpled when it hit the ground. Steeljack didn’t have a moment to see who was attacking the camp before a marine crashed into him, sending both pony and human to the ground.

“Blaze squad, scatter!” yelled Tremble as he dove to the ground.

“What the hell is that thing!?!?” yelled one of the marines.

Tremble looked up from his spot on the ground, looking up at a towering green alicorn that was blasting away at the marines that had secured the camp, with bullets and plasma fire bouncing off a green shield of magic as the creature continued its assault. Tremble rose, kneeling while he looked out on the camp. “Comet, Strike, flank that son of a bitch! Sonar, take Rosemary and fall back to the Redoubtable. I need a reliable fallback position now!”

“Really, turn and run?” Asked Sonar. He was quickly silenced when a green bolt of magic sailed past his head and hit the ground behind him. “On second thought, the ship sounds like a great place to be!”

“Then get moving!” yelled Tremble. Checking over his shotgun one last time, Tremble stared down the advancing alicorn. “Steeljack, you up?”

“Up enough to know we’re in deep shit!” He retorted.

“Then we need a plan.” Tremble ducked as a bolt of magic buzzed past his helmet. “Preferably one where we don’t all die, so give me something to work with!”

Steeljack fired off a few bolts from his rifle before he rolled to the side. “That shield is directional. So unless that one has a friend we haven’t run into yet, we just need to get her to face away from someone so we can get some shots in.”

Tremble nodded, pumping his shotgun. “Just get that thing to turn around.”

Steeljack nodded, charging at the alicorn. “Comet, Strike, lob and drill!”

“Now we’re talking!” replied Strike as he knelt down and leaned forward.

Steeljack broke to the right, using Strike as a ramp to gain elevation on the alicorn. As it turned to face him, Comet came tearing in behind the alicorn, showering its back with plasma bolts.

Steeljack managed to get over its shield and wrapped his arms around its neck before he headbutted the beast before he was tossed to the ground. “That could’ve gone better.”

“It’s all I needed.” Replied Tremble, now at point blank behind the alicorn, now distracted by Comet.

BANG shick schick

BANG shick schick

As the buckshot from his gun impacted in the back of the alicorn’s legs, Tremble pulled his knife out before kicking out its knees with a roundhouse kick before taking ame at the downed creature’s burnt back.

BANG shick schick

As his buckshot tore into the alicorn’s back, it swung around and blasted Tremble in the face with a bolt of green magic before punting Strike and curbstomping a downed Comet. “Fools.” Groaned the alicorn. “None of you know when to acknowledge your own doom.” She grabbed Fleetfoot by the throat, who had been trying to divebomb the monster, and planted her into the frozen ground. “So pray for a miracle.”

“Then allow me to deliver!” yelled a static filled voice, before a blue blur slammed into the alicorn and sent it sprawling out on the ground. “Cosmo, batter up!”

As the alicorn tried to get up, a unicorn clad in brown riot gear landed on her back and stabbed a knife into the joint for its left wing before picking up the alicorn with its magic. “Palmer, I’m tappin’ out!”

A third pony, this one an earth pony, slid under the floating alicorn bashed it in the mouth before rolling away. “Cosmo, pull!”

The unicorn nodded, tossing the alicorn away while the mare pulled a pistol and took aim at the flying body.

BANG BANG BANG BANG

Blood sprayed from the alicorn as the bullets struck it’s torso before it crashed to the ground in a crumpled heap. As it tried to get up, somepony rolled it onto its back. Looking down on it was a mint green unicorn, flanked by another unicorn with fire in its eyes.

Steeljack managed to get to his feet, spotting Dusk and Dart standing over the wounded creature. “Took ya long enough!”

Dusk rolled his eyes before pulling out a plasma pistol. “Dart, didn’t that thing say something about a miracle?”

“I think it did…” Dart pulled her own pistol out. “Something about pray for one?”

“Then we found it.” Said Dusk with a smirk. “Any last words you psycho bitch?” The alicorn furrowed it’s brow before charging up its horn. “Shit, I should’ve broken its horn off.”

Dart tackled Dusk off to the side as the alicorn fired off its blast, leaving a green streak of fading light across the sky. “Cloud, now would be a good time for that miracle!”

At that, the blue blur from earlier came back and hit the ground, revealing the shape of a blue armored pony. “Consider it done.” The alicorn scrambled to its feet, staring down Cloud with a lit horn before firing off two bolts of magic. Cloud sidestepped one before ducking under the other. “Time for a lesson in accuracy.” Two ports on his arms began glowing, and Cloud raised his arms and pointed them at the alicorn. “It’s called don’t miss.” Two orange bolts flew out from the ports, striking the alicorn square in the head.

“Timber!” yelled Dusk as the alicorn crumpled to the ground.

“Is that thing dead?” yelled Comet from his spot on the ground.

Dart looked down at the alicorn before shrugging. “It should be.”

Dusk knelt down next to it, looking at a black patch on the shoulder of its jumpsuit. “We might have a bigger problem on our hands here.” Pulling his knife out, he cut the patch off the suit and held it out for Dart to take. “Give you three guesses who sent that thing.”

“Are we gonna like the answer?” groaned Tremble as he approached.

“Probably not.” Said Dart as she handed Tremble the fabric, bearing the visage of the Grand Pegasus Enclave.

Author's Note

Now that these two parts are out, the missing pieces will be filled in with the next few chapters of "The Northern Guard". After that, it's onto the station.